Donut Dates

Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email

Friday’s Grand Connection Fun
by Mary May Larmoyeux

A fun thing that Pops and I have done with our grands is to take them on a “donut date”—right to the donut factory itself, so to speak—Krispy Kreme.

There’s a Krispy Kreme not too far from where we used to live. I think that the grandkids and I enjoyed watching the donuts being made even more than eating them. Well … almost.

What could be better than a piping hot glazed donut—especially one with all of the calories removed? Of course, there are not just plain donuts. There’s a counter-display filled with donuts of different sizes and shapes—chocolate covered with sprinkles, strawberry filled, cinnamon apple ...

When we took some of our grands to get donuts one fall, did they just want glazed donuts? No, they wanted pumpkin donuts. Guess what? They got pumpkin donuts.

Pops and I have brought the camera with us for our "donut date with the grands." We've snapped some great pictures and captured some great memories. Recently, our oldest granddaughter and I  made an out-of-town trip to see my mom. Guess where we ate breakfast? Dunkin Donuts!

Perhaps one day, when Pops and I are no longer on this earth, our grands will be eating donuts with their kids and they’ll say, “I remember when our grandparents took us to the donut shop.” And later they might even take out a tattered scrapbook and point to an old picture—a picture of us enjoying a Saturday morning with our legacy. Yep, eating pumpkin donuts.

Do you take your grands on donut dates?

If they live out of town, you could mail them a gift card to a donut store. And you could ask the grandkids' parents to snap a picture of them eating donuts and e-mail it to you. You might respond by e-mail with your own memories of eating donuts.

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

Article and Photo © Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
 

Making a bed for Baby Jesus

Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email

Friday's Grand Connection Thought

by Mary May Larmoyeux

When our children were small, one of our favorite Christmas traditions was making a pine straw bed for baby Jesus (instead of pine straw, you could use pieces of hay, balls of cotton, etc.). We’d set up the Nativity with everything except the figure of Jesus. Near the Nativity we filled a small basket with straw.

Whenever family members did secret acts of kindness to honor Christ (such as making someone’s bed, taking out the trash, giving an elderly neighbor cookies, etc.), he/she would secretly place a piece of pine straw on the manger floor. Then, on Christmas Day, the figure of baby Jesus was placed on the bed that had been made as acts of worship.

Doing this helped us all remember the real reason for celebrating Christmas—the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Tomorrow night Pops and I will get out the Nativity set and decorate the Christmas tree. And, yes, we will have a small basket filled with pine straw. Several of our grandchildren are now old enough to understand secret acts of kindness. So, this year some new little hands will be helping to make baby Jesus’ bed.

(If your grandchildren live out of town, you may want to share this tradition with their parents and send a special basket for the straw.)

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/
 hoto © Mary May Larmoyeux

Paper Hand-Print Wreath

Friday's Fun

With a little help, the grandkids can have a one-of-a-kind Thanksgiving wreath.

· Cut a wreath ring out of poster board or cardboard and set this aside.

· Trace each grandchild’s hands on colored construction paper (choose fall colors).

. Repeat this several times.

· Help the grandkids write something they are thankful for on each leaf. (Of course, older grandchildren could do this by themselves.)

· Now, randomly layer/glue the hands around the wreath until it is covered.

· You may want to decorate the leaves with some pumpkin or turkey stickers.

Here are some examples of various autumn hand-print wreaths:

Handprint Thanksgiving Wreath

Autumn Handprint Wreath “a”

Autumn Handprint Wreath “b”

Thanksgiving Handprint Craft

Have fun!

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/

*Photo © Margaret Thompson. Used with permission.

Fall Fun (Acrylic Paints, Pumpkin Centerpiece, and More)

Friday’s Fun

Well, today is Friday and two of our grands (almost 4 and 1 ½) will be spending the weekend. I’ve already made a trip to the hobby store. We’re going to make the fall placemats that I blogged about on September 26, and we’ll also decorate some plastic cups.

I learned today that you need acrylic paints for plastic … so, we now have acrylic paints. After a trip to the dollar store for the cups, we’ll be all set.

Painting can be messy for kids. If you're looking for an inexpensive “smock,” you could cut holes in an old pillowcase (for the child’s head and arms). I found disposable smocks online at Rex Art. Rex also sells an inexpensive child’s canvas apron with pockets that can be painted. Hummmm ... painting a grand's name on one of the aprons could make a fun Christmas present!

I was looking at Michael’s website and found a neat idea for an Autumn Pumpkin Centerpiece. It could be the perfect centerpiece to go with the kids’ fall placemats. You might want to scroll Michael’s site for the creative craft pumpkins ideas. I especially like Super Pumpkin.

Do you have any ideas for creative ways to decorate a pumpkin this year? Please share it in a comment or e-mail it to me at mary@marymaywrites.com.

Have a great weekend!

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com/